SF Gate columnist Carol Lloyd does an interesting article on Burning Man from a city planning perspective.
One factoid that stuck out:
the nonprofit organization that sponsors the event has 20 full-time employees, a Department of Public Works, a DMV (Department of Mutant Vehicles), a tech department, a media department, an infirmary and an airport.
No wonder tickets have gotten so expensive.
The best quote from the Ronald Reagan funeral – perhaps from the entire week – belonged to Ron Reagan Jr today:
Dad was also a deeply, unabashedly religious man. But he never made the fatal mistake of so many politicians wearing his faith on his sleeve to gain political advantage. True, after he was shot and nearly killed early in his presidency, he came to believe that God had spared him in order that he might do good. But he accepted that as a responsibility, not a mandate. And there is a profound difference.
Thanks Kevin Drum and the Washington Post for the pointers to a transcript.
At the risk of overload on the torture issue, one more post on it.
Tonight I read Digby’s take on it and was struck by how well he gets to the heart of the matter. There’s been a lot of anger, outrage, and disgust (and deservedly so) about this issue. Digby has transcended these responses and his eloquence is moving.
Party platforms are supposed to spell out the guidelines within which members of the party operate on a policy basis. That’s nowhere near the same thing as actually getting laws on the books, of course, but it’s a clear indicator of which way a party wants to go. So when I read the new party platform the Texas Republican Party has adopted, I was more than a little concerned.
Here’s three of the scariest items:
A plank in a section titled “Promoting Individual Freedom and Personal Safety” proclaims the United States a “Christian nation.”
“We therefore oppose any governmental action to restrict, prohibit or remove public display of the Decalogue or other religious symbols.”
[The platform] refers to “the myth of the separation of church and state.”
Considering that the Republican party currently controls the Texas legislature and the governor’s mansion, one wonders exactly how far they will push the envelope trying to put these party planks into the law books.
Not too long ago, it was not uncommon to see signs that said “Whites Only” in the South. You’d think that after all this time they would know better than to hang a sign on the state of Texas that says ‘Jews Not Welcome’. Apparently not.
Tip of the hat to Atrios for the link. Kevin Drumm also has a longer assessment of the platform.
A whiff of anti-Semitism seems to be in the wind these days. Kevin Drumm has more on the smearing of George Soros.
On a more positive note, I decided to answer the haters another way. I went and stood with SF Voices For Israel and waved a big Israeli flag at demonstrators for several hours yesterday. I’m sunburned but it was worth it. It feels like too many people these days know what they’re against, but not too many people know what they’re for. It felt good to go stand for something – in this case, Israel.
Most unexpected note from the rally: At one point a contingent of Soviet Jewish
The trailer for Fahrenheit 9/11 is out.
I am not a complete admirer of Michael Moore. In fact, I couldn’t get through “Stupid White Men”, it annoyed me too much. I prefer Bill Maher or Al Franken; they make anger funnier. But I’ll go see this one when it comes out.